intellectual who consolidated and continued the legacyofjohnpaulii.a boulder more confident catholic church, more willing to engage in public debates, but part of benedict's legacy will inevitably the scandals on his watch. particularly the exploding sex abuse scandals across the catholic world, not just in the west and the united states, but other parts of the world, and also the -- the massive vatican leak scandal that rocked this place in the last couple of years, which led to sort of internal meltdown in terms of the aberrations of the place so on the one hand, a strong, confident leader, who presided, whether it's his fault or force of circumstance, over some of the most serious scandals ever to rock the vatican, an important and mixed legacy. >> john, you mentioned -- according to you and people who watch this very, very closely. much more closely than the rest of us really, he been giving some signs, signals, laying the ground work for the possibility of resignation. and he had some health issues as well and that could come as news to some people. we've seen a pope. most peopl

, not so many times, but the last one i was here, and that was because a popedied.johnpauliidied after living his last years infirmed and in visible pain. now we have a transition, we have a living pope. you're not watching a funeral before the next pope is elected. you're not watching the world's heads of state come here to pay their respects to the departed pope. you're seeing a much different kind of transition. john al whlen, what is pope benedict going to do the rest of the day? >> normally the wednesday audience, the pope gives religious instruction rooted in scripture. but today i would imagine that knowing the momentous nature of what's happening, it's probably going to be uncharacteristically personal for benedict. i will imagine he will talk about what was in his mind and in his heart as he reached this remarkable decision to step as sight and what his hopes for the church are going forward. >> and high school a moment of opportunity and possibility, many saying this needs to be a moment for reform. what kind of reform do you think needs to happen? of course in our minds are

. >>andjohnpaulwouldhave been. >> a movie star. >> that gives you a sense of the different temperaments. yet the emotion that is now being really demonstrated as these cardinals say farewell face to face for the last time, all of them kissing the fisherman's ring which we know will be defaced and destroyed which benedict xvi's papacy ends. >> that's right. there are two instruments of the papal office, one is the ring and one is the official papal seal. the seal is kept in a safe in an office in the vatican. of course in the middle ages as you know, christiane be these were what were used to stamp paper bulls. which made them official. after a papacy had ended, someone might use the instruments to falsify papal documents. that's where the custom of destroying them came from. that will be honored at the end of benedict's papacy as well. >> thank you. we'll continue to watch this with all of you. back to you, john and zoraida in new york. >> it is interesting to see this as history is being made at the vatican. pope benedict xvi saying good-bye to the cardinals who have assembled and many

stepped down, because, remember, hewatchedjohnpaulii'sdemise and watched his powers fade, and what happens when a pope declines in power, the bureaucracy in inevitably increases. and i don't think he particularly enjoyed what was happening aat that time and may be seeing tremors again. and he decided to go ahead and retire early. >> let's stay on successors for a moment. any possibility that an american would -- we have dolan on there. is there any possibility we could see an american pope? >> i love cardinal dolan. i have known him since he was a priest. if i could elect a pope, i would elect dolan. but half of these election fors are europeans, the other half are predominantly africans and asians. the likelihood of them electing an american pope is remote. america has such a huge influence on the world to give them a papacy would be a bridge too far. that was the mind-set into the last conclave. look for a european, right now, if you were -- you know, begging me to give you an answer, i would probably say look at cardinal oullette from canada, who the pope incidentally sort of an

fieryend,john. >>paulvercammencovering this developing story for us. thank you. >>> we want to move on to the president's state of the union address. the president laying out his vision for a second term. last night, challenging republicans to work with him. the speech seemed to hit home with a majority of americans. 53% had a very positive reaction. 24% somewhat positive and 22% reacted negatively. still, a majority of speech watchers, 53%, do not believe this will lead to more bipartisan cooperation. glass half full, glass half empty. brianna keilar here to talk about the speech. >> i think the polls might be on to something, john. president obama talked a lot about the economy, deficit reduction is lone is not an economic plan and with some echoes of the campaign, he talked about investing in the middle class, through education, clean energy investments, and an increase in the minimum page. economic measures that quite swiftly republicans rejected. >> we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. >> reporter: in the first state of the union address o

of the most celebrated after-parties in theworld.paulvercammenhas more on that. >> reporter: from the governor's ball. to the "vanity fair" party. to elton john's famous fund-raiser, hollywood knows how to let loose on oscar night. >> we're able to come here and get our message across and raise money and have a good time at the same time. >> reporter: sir elton and david fernish celebrated their event. heidi klum, nicki minaj and jane lynch were on-hand. >> i thought it was a wonderful show. i loved it. i loved the movies. it was great. >> reporter: across town at the "vanity fair" soiree, sandra bullock, and richard gere, all hit the red carpet before partying it up inside. and presenter, halle berry, revealed what she thought was the biggest surprise of the night. >> ang lee. i thought surprised everybody. but so deserved. i loved "life of pi." >> reporter: at the governor's ball after-party, the night's big winners bumped shoulders with hollywood icons. >> octessica. we're the supercouple. >> what are you going to do tonight? >> i don't know. it depends on what and who is in th

to end the debate over whether to confirm hagel.randpaultellingcnn they need to hold democrats to a higher standard here. >> if they're got -- >> hagel's nomination made it out of the armed services committee on a party line vote. >>> general john allen may withdraw his nomination to become the supreme allied commander of nato. in fact, a staff member's written statement indicates he is considering taking a brake to reunite with his family, maybe even possibly retire. general allen spent 1 months directing nato forces against taliban insurgents. last year embarrassing e-mails with jill kelly came to light during cia director's sex scandal. >>> there was emphasis on the staging. students here are actually on winter break this week. the principal e-mailed parents offering a one-day experience mimicking a normal school day to coincide with the president's visit. >> if you're in preschool i bet you don't mind seeing the president. it's not a hardship to spend a day with the president. >> i bet not. >>> his hostage ordeal is over but the lingering effects are certainly not over. com

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